r/chemistry 19m ago

Weekly Careers/Education Questions Thread

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This is a dedicated weekly thread for you to seek and provide advice concerning education and careers in chemistry.

If you need to make an important decision regarding your future or want to know what your options, then this is the place to leave a comment.

If you see similar topics in r/chemistry, please politely inform them of this weekly feature.


r/chemistry 5m ago

Research chemistry back in ancient rome

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r/chemistry 8m ago

How to keep up with my chemistry knowledge

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I’m currently on placement this year and I’m gaining a lot of experience in terms of practical organic synthesis but I’m worried about forgetting a lot of the theory that I’ve learned so far during my degree. Just wondering what people do to keep up to date with their chemistry knowledge


r/chemistry 1h ago

Cleaning Rust on Marble Floor

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So my Lab is having some problem with steel chair that has just been put in front of my lab recently. apparently because of weather, the humidity is so wet and it's almost raining all the time. i have tried using sodium citrate solution for cleaning the 2nd image, but it doesn't clean it. Any solution on what we should do? thanks in advance!


r/chemistry 6h ago

Why HF itself is a weak acid, but diluted solution of HF is a super acid.

30 Upvotes

I acknowledge that HF is weak because F- is unstable (F is a small element, therefore the negative charge "density" in F- is big, so it makes it unstable.). But as far as I know, HF in solution formed with H2O, exists in H2F2 state, so when dissolve H+, it will have HF2-, which is more stable (because the negative charge on F- is being shared with the other F).

In conclusion, the above is my thought of this question, do you have a better explanation? If my thought was right, so why HF it self doesn't exist in H2F2 state. Thank you for your opinion.

*English is not my first language and I don't use it for everyday Chemistry learning so maybe you will find it hard to understand, sorry for that.


r/chemistry 10h ago

What breaks down anti-freeze ?

14 Upvotes

Ok so I’m looking for a chemist to help . I’m looking for a way to naturalize antifreeze . Or a detergent that will break it down . Upon a recommendation for winterizing my liveaboard sailboat,I put about a gallon of antifreeze in my bilge this winter before storing it in the hard . I used both the automotive and rv types - propelene gycol and ethelene glycol .) I’ve rinsed it out, but it still smells really strongly of antifreeze . To the point of actually feeling a headache from inhaling it in the confined space. I’m concerned because I’ve read it’s toxic to inhale . I will be sleeping aboard my boat every night this season and don’t want to get poisoned from breathing it in . Is there a certain type of detergent or chemical I can use to break it down ? Besides just a bilge cleaner / and or soap ? I’m not a chemist and figured this would be a good place to find someone smart enough to understand how to break it down . I’ve looked it up several ways online and can’t find anything specific , Thanks in advance .


r/chemistry 10h ago

Chemistry Summer Camp

1 Upvotes

Hello, I'm a Sophomore in Bay Area High School.
I'm really into science, but I haven't applied to any of the summer programs yet, except for ASDRP.

I know it's a little late, but can you guys recommend me some summer camps to apply to?


r/chemistry 13h ago

Does conventional gear oil have a shelf life?

4 Upvotes

After my dad passed I was cleaning out his shop and found an unopened jug of gear oil that’s presumably 10 plus years old. A quick google search say yes it does after a few years but the stuff is left inside millions of diffs across the globe for more than that all the time. So is it safe to use on my old Toyota pickup?


r/chemistry 14h ago

Any tools or ERP systems that auto-check COAs against USP/BP?

1 Upvotes

I'm not sure if this is the right sub to ask about that or not but hope I can get some insights ,basically I work for a pharmacitical company as a purchasing agent ( I have just stared ) but I'm a chemistry graduate as well, we receive a certificate of analysis for each raw material we purchase and we have to match it with either a USP or BP edition but I figured out today that our quality control head validates that manually, I'm just wondering if anyone is using a specific software or there is a feature in their ERP system where they can match COAs automaticly once they are recived.


r/chemistry 21h ago

How to know if a margarine has trans fat?

0 Upvotes

Margarine is promoted as a healthier alternative to butter as it contains polyunsaturated fat instead of saturated fat. Furthermore it also contains plant sterols, which compete with cholesterol for absorption across the intestinal cell membrane, leading to reduced cholesterol uptake, thereby improving cardiovascular health.

However, there has been a concern about trans fats in margarine for the past few years, and since then the manufacturers have made an effort to remove trans fat from them. But how do I know if there isn't any trans fat? Sure, the manufacturers do provide nutritional information which details any information about trans fat. But how credible are they?


r/chemistry 21h ago

Testosterone Cypionate Crystals - Thought looked cool

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486 Upvotes

r/chemistry 22h ago

copper and lead corrosion

1 Upvotes

not sure if I can even post this here but I have a battery maintainer and the clamp is copper. the battery post is likely lead. I'm having an issue where I am getting significant corrosion on the copper clamp. it almost looks like it was set on fire. I'm assuming this is some type of oxidation? can anyone chime in on this and what exactly is happening?


r/chemistry 23h ago

What is this blue stuff in my humidifier?

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158 Upvotes

This is a humidifier that works by heating the water. There is a copper plate that is a part of a thermal switch. The pipes are usually stainless steel color. Usually they get covered in limescale which I clean with vinegar from time to time. This time I decided to add a little vinegar to the humidifier water. After a week the pipes turned blue. What happened?


r/chemistry 1d ago

Sodium sulphate vs magnesium sulphate for anhydrous drying

9 Upvotes

Is there a difference? I used sodium sulphate in microbiology research but magnesium since starting a project in organic chem


r/chemistry 1d ago

Coper disolution in hcl

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24 Upvotes

I’ve disolved some copper in hcl but the solution turned blackish brown insted of the green i expected does anyone know what happened ? On the photo there is some crystals seperating out (cucl2 maybe)


r/chemistry 1d ago

Star stains on lab coat

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59 Upvotes

Any ideas what this is or how to get rid of it? I thought it was mold but it doesn't come out easily.


r/chemistry 1d ago

I advised my kid to write whatever you like during class and do not disturb others, he wrote entirely periodic table from memory.

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3.4k Upvotes

@mod please delete if it's not appropriate. He is 8 year and neurodivergent. Very interested in elements and becoming obsessed with it. He knows uses of all elements and where it is found Now he is learning about each elements electron, portion and neutron numbers. I just gifted him The Elements Book: A visualEncyclopedia of the Periodic Table and he is enjoying it. Polonium, plutonium and mercury are his favourite elements.


r/chemistry 1d ago

I have a question about the flame

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30 Upvotes

This may sound dumb to y’all but I’m curious why the flames are combining but instead the one below is passing through the top one , I also didn’t know where to post this question and google said chemistry is more fire related


r/chemistry 1d ago

Successful dandelion soap!

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72 Upvotes

I still have a few other variations I want to try. not because I necessarily need to, but just to see if it affects yield. I was hoping the yellow would carryover, but I never expected it to carry this well. I suppose it makes sense. People used it to dye clothing with it.


r/chemistry 1d ago

Copper Nanoparticles

1 Upvotes

hello chemists of reddit, i’m a sculptor looking for some help with my practice, i recently discovered a way to coat steel and other metals in a thin copper plating using copper nano particles LINK——-> https://youtu.be/AiML2lvwWY8?si=p9ARfPYqL49prSKD

i want to know how to synthesize the greenish black liquid seen in this video, any help would be appreciated, i’m very enamored by copper and the different patinas you can apply to it and anyone knowledge yall could provide would mean the world i will also send u a lil something if you help me super big time 😁


r/chemistry 1d ago

How was medicine made in pharmacy during WWI in Britain?

5 Upvotes

I am writing a novel set in WWI, London, and some chapters take place in a pharmacy through the POV of a chemist. Unfortunately, I'm not confident with the small amount of information I've found on the actual compounding and bottling of medicines during this time. Can anyone help me?


r/chemistry 1d ago

How has studying chem benefited you in other areas?

68 Upvotes

Title. Personally, I can say that slugging through ochem made me far better at visualization. I can now turn things in my head and "look" at them in different directions, something i wasn't able to do as much before. Also, chem has made me think more deeply about cooking (apparently sodium citrate's role as a chelating agent is what helps make all sorts of normally-not-melty cheeses melty)


r/chemistry 1d ago

Things that never get old

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216 Upvotes

I know it’s basic, but a distillation is still one of my favorite things to watch. I usually sit and watch them from start to end. What’s something that you never get bored of doing or watching?

I’m purifying my heptane right now.


r/chemistry 1d ago

Some basic equipment I got for home experiments

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23 Upvotes

The first thing I’ll be doing is some electroplating with copper sulphate and I’m really excited to do stuff that’s a little more advanced stuff in the future :)


r/chemistry 1d ago

Using honey to make silver powder

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0 Upvotes